Chinatown neighborhood guide

Find the best restaurants, bars, karaoke, shops and things to do with our guide to Chicago's Chinatown

By Time Out editors, compiled by Brent DiCrescenzoPosted: Saturday July 26 2014

Photograph: Erica GannettMingHin is one of the best Chinese restaurants in Chicago.

Chinatown is perhaps the smallest enclave we will focus on in our series of neighborhood guides, a triangle framed by the Red Line, the river and the Stevenson Expressway totaling about 20 square blocks. But it is stuffed with culture, cuisine and things to do. From the traditional tea boutiques and dim sum parlors lining Wentworth Avenue to the video stores and candy shops importing goodies from Hong Kong in the Chinatown Square mall, Chicago's Chinatown offers more than meets the eye on a drive down Cermak Road. Water Taxis deliver tourists and adventurous Loop lunchers to the beautiful pagoda in Ping Tom Park, on the northern tip of the 'hood. The exterior of Won Kow Restaurant has changed little since it opened in 1928. Plus, a quick walk a few blocks outside the neighborhood limits brings you to spots like Reggie's Rock Club, Skylark and neighboring Bridgeport. Which makes Chinatown more than a daytime diversion, but a sleeper nightlife spot.